When a country’s government no longer backs its currency from a tangible asset such as gold or silver the inevitable always occurs, inflation. In themepark MMOs inflation is also inevitable, but why? In themepark MMOs all (or at least most) goods are eventually acquired. At some point later in the game’s life-cycle, players participate less in activities that cause money to exit the economy. For example, once a player reaches max level, they no longer need to spend money on skill training, mount training, mounts, craft training, and other activities that cause money to exit the game (i.e. vendor purchases).

In the past year, the US dollar has risen from historic lows to recent highs. There are only a few currencies in the world that are worth more than the US dollar (the Euro, British Pound and etc). Now for US consumers this means they can purchase foreign products for a relative cheap price. Though for the last few decades, the costs of video games in dollar terms have remain relatively the same. Most video games (not including collectors or deluxe editions) are sold from $29.99 to $59.99.

I am starting to notice that MMO developers are taking steps to divert from the main stream formula of MMORPGs. They’re realizing that players want to be able to play a game in a world of endless possibilities and not in a world that’s predefined. Players want to be shopkeepers, fishermen, pirates, thieves, tamers, or adventures, all doing their own thing in their own way. I must say I am happy that developers are taking this initiative.

As you may know when it comes to playing MMOs I really enjoy the crafting and economy side of things. I do adventure and participate in pve and pvp, but those are second to the enjoyment I receive when playing as a crafter. But out of all of the Online games that I’ve played there are only a few of them that really sparked my interest or really twinkled my toes. The first one was Ultima Online, its crafting system wasn’t vast or deep but the economy was for the most part player made. The second one was Final Fantasy XI Online, and this game really got me into crafting.

The Revenue Act of 1913 was signed by President Woodrow Wilson on October 3, 1913. Originally the tax was imposed on the incomes of couples exceeding $4,000 or $3,000 for a single person. $4,000 in 1914 is worth approximately $93,924 today. So as one can see, the federal tax was directed towards the rich, but even then they were subjugated to pay only one percent of their income. Really tax rates were cheap back then compared to what we pay today. Today, the tax rate can range from 10%-39% of our income in just federal taxes only, not including other taxes such as local, state, or social security taxes.